Feeding America, the nation's leading hunger relief organization, announced today that Cargill is making a $6 million commitment to the organization over the next three years to expand its work with Feeding America to strengthen food safety initiatives and help provide millions of meals to families in need across the country.

The latest gift from Cargill sets them apart as a "Leadership" partner of Feeding America, meaning they have donated either $10 million or 100 million pounds of food over a five year period. In all, Cargill's commitment to fighting hunger as a Feeding America partner includes millions of pounds of food donated and $11.4 million invested in hunger relief since 2009.

"We are proud and grateful to stand shoulder to shoulder with Cargill and its employees in the fight against hunger," said Bob Aiken, CEO of Feeding America. "With more than 50 million people in the United States struggling with hunger, we know that we can't solve the problem alone. Together, with partners like Cargill, we can solve hunger."

Cargill's recent gift will enable Feeding America to continue its mission to feed people in need and help to bring awareness to the issue of hunger in the US. A large part of the donation will impact food safety initiatives at food banks and help source diverse food streams such as produce and manufactured product.

Improved food safety practices are not vital only for the health and safety of clients, but also help to attract the more than 3 billion pounds of food that Feeding America distributes each year. A rigorous food safety program helps Feeding America obtain more donations by assuring food product donors that their donations will be thoroughly inspected and monitored.

Cargill's donation allows Feeding America to fund independent audits at food banks as well as grants to help make improvements.

The donation will also help fund other critical areas within the Feeding America network, such as:

•Investing in food sourcing to help ensure food that would be otherwise lost make its way to families in need.

•Engaging the agriculture community through the Invest an Acre program, a Feeding America initiative to connect farmers with their local food banks by giving them to opportunity to donate proceeds from crop sales.

•Continuing its support of the "Hunger Free Minnesota" program, which helps to capture and distribute untapped sources of produce to help feed families in need with nutritious foods.

The timing of the gift is especially significant considering the growing number of people in the United States who are food insecure. According to the US Department of Agriculture, there are approximately 49 million food insecure individuals in the US, including 16 million children.

With Cargill's support, Feeding America hopes to provide more meals annually to families throughout the US. The impact of Cargill's support will be felt throughout the 202 food banks in the Feeding America network and over 61,000 affiliated agencies, such as soup kitchens, pantries and shelters.

About Feeding America

Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks support 61,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. Feeding America also supports programs that improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger™.